Final report: Oregon snowpack still worst on record

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Oregon on Friday released its June water supply outlook report, the last of the season, which summarizes the record-low winter snowpack that will lead to significantly low stream flows and water shortages this summer.

“Water users that depend on streamflow for their water resources will most notably feel the impacts of limited water supplies this summer,” said Scott Oviatt, NRCS snow survey supervisor.

As of June 1, only 1 out of 81 snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites had any measurable snow, while normally at least 10 monitoring sites still have snow on June 1. While this water year has seen near normal amounts of rain, the lack of snowpack means that little or no snowmelt will be available to boost reservoir storage and sustain stream flows this summer.

While it is typical for the lower elevations to be snow-free on June 1, Oregon experienced a historically low seasonal snowpack.

Some mountain areas in western Oregon had snow on the ground for only a few weeks. Throughout the state, 60 percent of the snow measurement sites measured the lowest snowpack on record or were snow-free for the first time mid-winter.

In western Oregon, the snowpack peaked 60 to 90 percent below the normal amounts, while the snowpack in the eastern part of the state peaked 30 to 80 percent below normal.

In many cases, this season’s snowmelt-induced streamflow peak occurred in February.

“Snowmelt in February is months too early to synchronize crop planting and irrigating; and too early for many of Oregon’s reservoirs to take advantage of the surge of moisture, as they are designed for both flood control and late season irrigation,” Oviatt said.

Most of Oregon is included in the moderate to severe drought category for this summer, and the southeastern third of Oregon is in the extreme drought category, according to the USDA Drought Monitor: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.

“There will be water shortages this summer due to the lack of sustained stream flow normally provided by snowmelt run off,” Oviatt said. “Many water users and managers have been preparing for this due to the lack of snowpack this winter.”

As of June 1, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a drought state of emergency for 15 counties, with more likely to follow: Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Harney, Crook, Baker, Wheeler, Josephine, Jackson, Lane, Deschutes, Wasco, Grant, Morrow, and Umatilla.

NRCS Oregon has made available up to $2.5 million for farmers, ranchers and woodland owners in drought-declared counties to help mitigate drought effects on their operations.

That funding is available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Producers are encouraged to submit applications for funding by June 26 by contacting a local USDA Service Center. Funding will be prioritized based on the most drought-stricken areas in the state. For more information about the Drought EQIP funding, visit the NRCS Oregon drought webpage.

The NRCS Snow Survey is the federal program that measures snow and provides streamflow forecasts and snowpack data for communities, water managers and recreationalists across the West.

In Oregon, snow measurements are collected from 81 SNOTEL sites, 42 manually measured snow courses, and 26 aerial markers. Water and snowpack information for all SNOTEL sites nationwide are available on the Snow Survey website in a variety of formats. The reports are updated every hour and are available at: www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/snow

NRCS publishes six monthly Oregon Water Supply Outlook Reports between Jan. 1 and June 1 every year. To regularly receive this information as an email announcement, contact Julie Koeberle at julie.koeberle@or.usda.gov or 503-414-3272 to subscribe.